As Blood Runs Cold
by ReeseJ
Summary: Yumi's doing everything in her power to keep her friends safe from Koenma, and when an enemy becomes an unexpected friend, the chance of survival increases.  One-shot for now. More details inside, R&R please!


**Hey guys, it's me again. So, I actually had a dream a few nights ago about a scene in a story I had been thinking of. So, I was thinking of making a new story. Below would be a chapter in the actual story. It would be a later chapter, but it's a chapter, nonetheless. I was hoping maybe you could read it and tell me what you think. Whether you liked it or not, whether you think I should write out the entire story or not. Anywho, for now this is just a one-shot, but that can change in the future~ Enjoy!**

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She had every intention of killing him in cold blood. These past few weeks meant nothing, absolutely nothing, to her anymore. Not now that she knew exactly WHO this man was, what he had done.

But now, something completely different pushed her on towards the forest. This energy, this force she was feeling, it could either mean that they had come to retrieve her, or it could mean that something had gone horribly wrong.

And of course, Aya had heard nothing from either of them, which meant that it was more than likely the latter situation.

The pit in her stomach only got deeper as the energy pulsed, fluctuating rapidly before evening out again. No, this couldn't be good at all. Yumi NEVER had problems crossing over, ever.

Aya fought against her mental barriers, struggling to keep them in place. This was his fault, too. Ever since she'd met him, her power had started fighting against her, struggling to be free. And now, with her fear increasing with every step, it was getting harder to fight against herself.

The bright light of midday cut off abruptly as the tree surrounded her, blocking out the sunlight. As the trees became denser, they became harder to avoid, and Aya had to slow her agonizing pace.

Time seemed to slow down, and it seemed like a century before she finally burst through the brush and emerged in the clearing, and the large rip appeared in the air before her. The small tear in the dimensional field slowly grew, before a grim, dark light burst through and covered the clearing. When the light faded, two figures remained in the centre of the clearing.

Yumi knelt on the ground, her long black cloak ripped and torn, her bare arms covered in scratches from sword and claw alike. Her sword, Hades, lay at her feet, its blade slick and bright with fresh blood. Her long black hair fell loose into her lap, and when she raised her head, and her deep violet gaze met Aya's shocked stare, time all seemed to rush up at once and punch a hole straight through her heart.

In Yumi's lap lay the unconscious form of Kaori. Someone who, in Aya's mind, had been an unshakeable rock, now reduced to this pitiful thing. There was a long gash in her right arm, extending from her shoulder down to her wrist, and she was missing two fingers from her left hand. It looked like someone had taken a bite out of her right ear, and the flesh of her left arm was burnt.

But the thing that left Aya speechless, what made tears fight to surface, was the ragged hole in the wolf's chest. The entire front of Kaori was soaked in blood, and a small puddle of it was beginning to form on the ground beneath the two girls.

Aya stumbled forward and fell to her knees before her two friends, at a loss for words. Her hands flailed uselessly before her as she tried to think of something to do to help. She looked to Yumi for help, for direction, guidance, anything.

Yumi stared back, her face grim, and she shook her head.

"She's not dead, but the bastard who did this is. I'll do what I can, but you have to take her."

She reached out a hand and grabbed Aya's shoulder, forcing the girl to look at her and focus.

"Aya, listen to me! You have to take Kaori and get her help."

Aya nodded, still unable to say anything. Yumi opened her mouth to say something else, but all that came out was a choking sound, and seconds later blood was spilling from the shadow's mouth.

Aya's gaze snapped down to Kaori's chest, and sure enough, Yumi's hand was placed firmly underneath the wound, her fingers splayed out in a circle, tiny black runes shining dully on flesh.

As Aya watched, the hole slowly began to close, inch by inch, healing itself. And as this happened, the runes on Yumi's fingers multiplied, extending to slowly cover her hand and arm, and as Kaori's wound closed, the same wound slowly began to form itself on Yumi's chest.

"What are you doing?"

Aya began to reach for Yumi's hand, fully prepared to yank it from Kaori's chest and stop the ritual, but small, black, misty tendrils wrapped around her wrists and pulled them to the ground.

"No, Aya, this will keep her alive, you know this ha-"

"But it will kill you!" Aya interjected, ripping her wrists from the grasp of Yumi's shadows.

"Is that it? Save her, but kill yourself?"

Yumi smirked, "You really think something like this could kill me?"

Aya set her jaw and again reached for Yumi's hand, but by then the ritual was complete, the gaping hole in Kaori's chest was gone, and judging from the ever-growing pool of blood, was now fully reformed on Yumi's chest.

Aya frowned, but said nothing. Arguing with Yumi never got you anywhere, except dead. Instead, she stuck to concern.

"What about her other wounds?"

Yumi shook her head, and after a few short breaths answered, "You have to get her help for those. She's no longer in danger of dying, but you have to get her out of here now, Aya."

"Why now? Where are you going? Why did you come back here? What's happening back there?"

Yumi again shook her head, and pushed Kaori's body into Aya's hands. "Later, when you're both safe. Now, get out of here."

Aya again tried to question the shadow demon, but another presence filled the clearing, one that filled her with hate. She gently returned Kaori's body to Yumi's grasp and stood, turning to stare into the cold, brown gaze of Koenma.

Her hands balled into fists as she controlled her urge to jump at him, as all her senses and instincts told her to attack. This man was responsible for her brother's corruption. It was this man here that was ultimately responsible for her brother's death.

And then, like the mere mention of it summoned him, Yusuke Urameshi came to a stop beside Koenma, his surprised gaze locking on Aya.

"What are you doing here?"

Aya ignored him, focusing all her attention on Koenma.

The man, currently in his older form, nodded slightly to Aya, taking a small step forward.

"While I was hoping I wouldn't find you here, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised… How have you been, Aya?"

Aya forced out a smile,

"Rather lonely, no thanks to you, Koenma."

She spat out his name, again biting down on the urge to attack him.

Confusion colored Yusuke's face, and his gaze switched from Koenma to Aya and back.

"You two know each other? Aya, please talk to me! I don't know what I did to piss you off so bad, but I'm sorry!"

Aya's gaze met his for a second before it fell to the ground. God, even after all she knew now, looking into his eyes still made her knees weak. Yusuke took a step towards her, and she quickly stepped back, once again kneeling beside Yumi, who had gone tense the minute Koenma had appeared.

"Aya…"

Koenma frowned, "Yusuke… It's not use, I'm afraid. The minute she found out you were the spirit detective, you lost all hope of ever reasoning with her…"

Yusuke's gaze lingered on Aya for a moment more, before flicking to Koenma.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Koenma sighed, "Yusuke, do you know who this girl is?"

"She's Aya Hirue, an artist, and until recently," he paused, once again looking to Aya, who ignored him, "A really good friend…"

Koenma shook his head, "She lied to you… lied to everyone, from the sounds of it… Aya, why change your last name? Why go into hiding?"

Aya laughed a harsh, bitter sound that she instantly choked off.

"Why, you ask? To hide from you, obviously! I saw what happened to my brother when he was working for you, and there was NO way I was going to let you rope me into that, too."

Yusuke frowned, confusion again returning to his features. Koenma shook his head sadly, "What happened to your brother wasn't my fault, Aya… I wish you would see that…"

After another sigh he turned to Yusuke, "This girl isn't Aya Hirue. Her name is Aya Shinobu… Yusuke, this is Sensui's younger sister."

The confusion on Yusuke's face turned to shock, then understanding, and finally, horror. "You're brother… I… I killed him."

"Yeah, you did, didn't you? Well shucks, ain't that a shame?"

The sarcasm in Aya's voice almost completely masked the raw pain, and she fought even harder to bite back the tears. Yumi gently, but firmly, laid her hand on Aya's shoulder, which was both a shock and a comfort, but it also brought Koenma's attention to the two demons.

"Yusuke, I need you to apprehend those two demons in the ground. They're wanted for acts of crime against Spirit World. It shouldn't be a problem for you; they're both wounded and weak…"

"Weak, you say?"

Yumi's cold, steady voice cut Koenma off, and a slow smile spread itself across her face.

"Koenma, when have you ever known me to be weak?"

A force filled the clearing, slow, steady, and undoubtedly powerful. Aya smirked, casting a sidelong glance at the Spirit Lord.

"You always were stupid, weren't you?"

Koenma took a step back, shaking his head,

"Or, it won't be so easy… Hiei! Kurama!"

As if waiting in the wings the entire time, two more men entered the clearing. One of which Aya recognized. Kurama, tall, handsome, and reeking with a steady thrum of power. The other was a stranger to her. Short, dressed in all black, and looking utterly bored and dangerous as hell. That must be Hiei.

"Yes, well, I'll leave it to you three to deal with them. I've also got backup on the way, if you need them. They should be here shortly. I, however, am going to leave now."

"No! You coward!" Aya hissed, jumping to her feet, but by then he was already gone, only his voice lingering.

"Oh, and if you can't bring them in alive, then I want them dead… All three of them. They're too dangerous to be kept alive any longer."

Hiei drew his sword, and Yumi instantly reacted, laying Kaori's body on the ground behind her and pushing herself to her feet, Hades in hand. Aya looked to Yumi, and was relieved to find that the gaping hole in her chest was significantly smaller, and had stopped gushing blood.

Aya stood beside Yumi, her fingers tingling as her spirit energy began to leak through her barriers, and for once, she let it.

Yumi raised Hades, it's point aimed for Hiei's throat.

"Try anything, and I'll send you straight to Hell."

Hiei smirked, his grip on the hilt of his katana tightening.

"You think you can? That's a pretty nasty hole you have there, looks painful."

"No! We're not going to fight them!"

Yusuke moved to stand in front of Hiei, blocking his view of Yumi.

"Aya, look-"

He was interrupted as Kurama lunged forward, surging past Yusuke, only stopping as Yumi trained her sword on him. He didn't notice, as his gaze was locked on Kaori.

"What's wrong with her? Is she ok?" His gaze raised to meet Yumi's for a brief moment before locking again on Kaori.

Yumi regarded him for a few seconds before a small smile appeared on her face, along with a look of relief.

"She's fine, fox boy, for the moment."

She adjusted Hades slightly to allow him to pass her, and he did. He ran to Kaori and knelt beside her, taking her hand in his.

"What happened?"

"There's no time. You can sense as well as I can that Koenma's troops are almost here. I can't fight them and protect her as well… Kurama," She turned to him, "Take her, take Kaori and Aya, hide them, and keep them both safe. Aya can help her, but you can protect them both."

Kurama hesitated only slightly, his gaze jumping from Yusuke to Hiei, Yumi, and then Kaori. He finally nodded, taking Kaori in his arms and standing.

"I won't try to stop you. Hiei, we can't fight them. I know them, they're not evil, and they're not a threat to the human or the Spirit worlds."

Yusuke looked relived, though Hiei frowned, disappointed, though he never lowered his sword.

"I was looking forward to a chance to warm up, too…"

Yumi smirked, and vanished. Hiei tensed, but was thrown to the ground as Yumi's foot connected with his head, sending him flying. She had appeared behind him, and now walked over to stand above him, the tip of Hade's blade resting in the hollow of his neck.

"A warm up, you said?"

A mocking smile played across her face, as she took a few steps back.

"Aya, Kurama, take Kaori and go. I'll lead the troops away from you. No, Aya, you go with them, you have to get Kaori to safety. Now! GO!"

Aya hesitated only moments more, but she could feel the spiritual presence of the troops closing in, and so she turned and ran, only stopping briefly to make sure Kurama and following with Kaori. Yusuke looked to Yumi and Hiei before turning and running after the others.

Yumi again looked down to Hiei before heading off in the opposite direction.

"If you lead the troops to them, I swear I'll torture you until you beg me to kill you."

Hiei stood, swinging his katana in his grasp and smirking, "I said I wanted a warm up, and I hate the Spirit Troops… Be lucky I'm in such a good mood."

The ground shook as a massive wave of energy surged through the clearing. Hiei stumbled slightly, and Yumi smirked, "Oh, lucky indeed."

The clearing was then filled with troops from the spirit world, and their hesitation was brief before they charged after Yumi and Hiei, who both took off into the forest.

"How will you get them to follow you, and not go after the others? Obviously they'll notice that the others aren't with you."

Hiei cast a glance behind him as he ran beside Yumi.

"What are you talking about, you fool. Kaori and Aya are with us."

Hiei glared at her, though the sight of the other two girls cut off any words he was about to respond with. Kaori ran at his right, slightly behind him, and Aya ran at Yumi's left. Both girls looked completely unharmed, and fully real. With a second glance he also realized that Yumi herself looked unharmed. The blood and scratches were gone, and the hole in her chest was gone as well.

Yumi met his confused gaze and chuckled, "Illusion, boy, is a wonderful thing. Now concentrate and run."

Yumi hoped desperately that Aya could get Kurama and Kaori to safety soon. She couldn't keep this up much longer. The wound she took from Kaori was heeling slower than usual, and she had lost a lot of blood and energy already. If the troops caught her now? She wasn't entirely sure she could fight them all off in her current state.

She frowned slightly, realizing the mistake she had made in letting Yusuke go with Aya. If she couldn't control herself, and killed him? Koenma would hunt her down for the rest of her life. She couldn't count on the fox-boy to stop them, either. The love-struck pup wouldn't be any use unless someone tried to hurt Kaori.

Her thoughts were interrupted as a ball of blue energy flew past her head, missing only by inches. Yumi hissed, turning and hurling a black ball of energy back at her attacker, hitting him square in the chest and sending him crashing into the trees.

She turned again and continued running, only to stop again as two of the troops appeared in front of her.

Yumi cursed, swinging Hades up to block an attack from the troop's own katana. The second troop raised his axe to attack, but was stopped as Hiei swiftly decapitated him with a swing of his katana. The first troop was stunned, and broke his concentration to yell "Traitor!" Yumi used this distraction to thrust Hades up through the man's stomach and out the back of his throat.

She spun, flinging his body into the group of his comrades that followed behind them. She grabbed Hiei's sleeve and took off running again.

"What are you doing? It would be easier to just fight them and get it over with!"

Hiei glared at Yumi. He hated running from a fight, especially one he knew he could win.

"You heard the man. You've turned traitor, Hiei, which means they won't hesitate to kill you, either. "

Hiei frowned but said nothing. He noticed that the illusions of Aya and Kaori were starting to get fuzzy, ad he didn't have to guess to know that it meant that Yumi didn't have as much strength as she claimed to have at the moment.

Yumi cast a quick glance over her shoulder and cursed again, "They're gaining on us, hold on!"

Hiei didn't have time to respond before she grabbed him and swung her arm around his waist.

"What the h-" he was cut off as everything went pitch black, and everything became cold, so deathly cold. When the light and warmth returned, he was sitting on a cliff overlooking the forest, Yumi standing a few feet ahead of him, looking down into the trees below.

Hiei jumped to his feet, grabbing Yumi's arm and swinging her around to look at him.

"What the hell was that?"

"That was me saving your ass, you idiot," Yumi hissed back, wrenching her arm from his grasp and turning back.

"We don't have much time before they catch our trail, though. I couldn't get us far enough away…"

"Oh? And why not?"

Yumi scowled, "Why not? Let's see you try to travel through dimensions with a hole in your chest!"

Hiei opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped and looked around. The illusions were gone, and Yumi's wounds had returned. Looking at her now he realized that she was a lot worse off than he had originally thought, though he kept his mouth shut.

"We better get moving, then."

Yumi nodded, "They've caught our trail, so they'll follow us with no problem. We shouldn't have to worry about them catching up for a while, either… If you want to go, now would be your chance. They'll think you're still with me, and my spiritual presence masks yours, so they won't be able to sense you elsewhere."

She didn't wait for a reply, nor did she even check to see if he had followed her, she just left. When she didn't sense him beside her, she was actually relieved. She could relax now, in a sense. She didn't have to keep up the "fuck you" façade, and she could focus solely on keeping the troops after her, and not after Aya and Kaori.

She slowed her pace slightly, not wanting to get too far ahead of the troops. She needed them to follow her, needed them to think they had the upper hand in numbers. Though truthfully? If they caught her now, she was dead. She might be able to pick off a few of them before they got her, and hell, she might even be able to fight her way out of all of them. But until she knew the others were safe, she couldn't risk it.

She cried out as a stabbing pain shot through the left side of her body, and when she looked down she found an arrow sticking out of her side.

"Damn it!" she swore, leaning against a tree and looking behind her. The bastards were closer than she thought they were which wasn't good for her.

Yumi gritted her teeth and snapped the arrowhead off, pulling the shaft out of her body and throwing both pieces to the ground in disgust.

Her gaze fell to her chest, and she laughed. At least she wasn't losing blood anymore. The hole was gone, leaving only dried blood in its place.

She gripped Hades tighter and surged on. There was no time for rest, not now, not yet. The sound of rushing water caught her attention, and she followed the sound. It wasn't long before she found the river, and judging by how fast the water was moving, and the distant roaring, the waterfall must not be too far down. She began running, concentrating only on the sound of her footfalls, on the sound of the river beside her, the sound of leaves and twigs snapping under her feet.

It wasn't long before she reached the waterfall in all its 200 story glory. Gazing down the length of it made Yumi dizzy, and so she settled for simply waiting. She could feel their presence getting closer by the minute, and so she prepared herself.

If her assumptions were correct, this plan would work, and if she was lucky, she'd survive this as well. Yumi let her eyes close as she waited, storing up her remaining power. As she heard the footsteps start to gather in front of her, she smirked. After a deep breath she slowly opened her eyes again and met the gaze of every troop member she could.

In a fleeting moment of curiosity she realized she'd thought there would be more than just this. She dismissed the thought and laughed as two large black wings formed at her back. She raised her arms and stretched them out on either side of her body, and was pleased at the worried looks on the faces of the troops.

"Come now boys, afraid of a little water?"

Yumi laughed and flung herself backwards over the edge of the falls. The wings she had formed were just for show. She hadn't the energy to form them strong enough to carry her through the air, and as it was, they vanished seconds after she began her descent. Hades vanished as well, returning to the shadow dimension until it was needed again.

After a few worried moments, she felt the energies of the troops, and she knew they had followed her over the edge. Now the simply tweak their minds and make them al believe that the body of water below them was crystal clear, instead of filled with sharp, deadly rocks. They would all fall to their deaths, and Aya and Kaori would be safe until Kaori recovered.

She shut down her own mind as she concentrated on twisting the minds of the troop. It was a fairly easy task, and required little energy on her part, which was ideal. When at last she had the thought fixed into their heads that they would be safe in following her into the water, she relaxed, awaiting the impact that was surely coming.

However, the impact Yumi felt completely caught her off guard, as she was knocked to the side by something larger than she was. She felt arms slide under her knees and behind her shoulders, and when they landed she turned her shocked gaze up to meet Hiei's crimson one.

"Killing yourself is the coward's way out," he stated simply, setting her down on the ground. He turned to look back at the lake at the base of the waterfall, "And you should thank me for saving your life."

Yumi frowned, "I wasn't trying to kill myself. If you hadn't butted in you would've seen that." She shook her head, leaning back against a tree to hide the fact that she was shaking. She'd used too much energy already, and it was showing. "So therefore, you didn't save my life."

Hiei smirked, turning back to her.

"That little stunt of yours killed most of them, but there are still several troops on their way after you, and they're more than a little pissed off."

Yumi chuckled and shrugged, "So I outrun them again, and I stop and fight them if necessary. There weren't as many as I thought there were. You didn't have to come back. You should've gone and run off before like I told you to."

"There weren't as many because I killed about half of them before 'interrupting' your ingenious plan."

Yumi was silent for a moment. She didn't exactly know how to respond to that one.

"I see, well… thank you, then."

Hiei chuckled, "Shouldn't you get going? They're on their way, you know."

Yumi frowned. She wasn't entirely sure how far she could get, but she wasn't going to voice those concerns aloud.

"I figured I'd let them get a head start" she said with a smirk. "Let them think they're winning."

Hiei sighed and sheathed his katana before walking towards Yumi. He ignored her questioning glance and grabbed her around the waist, throwing her over his shoulder.

"What the HELL are you doing?" Yumi slammed her fists against his back, and if it wouldn't have resulted in both of them on the ground, she would've kicked him, too.

Hiei tightened his grip on her and started running.

"I'm saving your ass, you idiot," he replied.

"There are some demons in this world who owe me a favor. They're taking care of the rest of the Spirit Troops. I'm getting you away from them before you get yourself killed."

Yumi hit him again, "Why do you care? Put me down!"

Hiei frowned and picked up his pace.

"I don't. But I hate being in debt. You saved me earlier, and so I'm just returning the favor. This means I can't put you down, Yumi, not yet."

Yumi hissed and grabbed a fistful of Hiei's hair, yanking at it as hard as she could while aiming a kick at his stomach.

He cursed, and they both went flying. Yumi hit the ground and rolled, slamming into a tree and falling onto her back. Hiei appeared above her seconds later, his features colored with rage. He placed his hands on the ground on either side of her head and stared straight down into her face.

"What the HELL was that for?"

Yumi began to push herself up, but Hiei grabbed her shoulders and slammed her back to the ground, a snarl escaping from his clenched teeth. Yumi smirked, glaring up at him.

"What's wrong? Did I hurt your precious pride?"

She didn't bother trying to get up again. She was too tired.

"I'm not going to be carried around on your shoulder like some prized buck. I appreciate your help, but there's a point where help just becomes annoying interference."

They sat there a few moments, glaring each other. Hiei's grip on Yumi's shoulders tightened, his nails biting into her flesh, and she fought to keep from wincing.

Finally he released her and stood, offering her his hand. She took it, determined to prove that she wasn't as big of a jerk as he was, and brushed the dirt off her corset and pants. The effort made her dizzy, but she ignored it. She'd suffered worse, much worse.

Hiei appeared beside her and abruptly swung her into his arms. He briefly met her gaze before glaring ahead again.

"This better?" he asked through clenched teeth, refusing to look at her again.

Yumi folded her arms across her chest and grimaced,

"Not much, but it'll do."

Regardless, she let her head rest against his shoulder and as he started running, she let her eyes drift shut.

She didn't see the smirk on his face as she drifted off into a half-sleep, which was for the best. Hiei shook his head. This girl was infuriating beyond belief, undoubtedly very powerful, cocky, and annoying… But still, something had driven him to help her.

It pissed him off that he didn't know what had caused him to go after the troops, to risk his own life to kill off half of them so she'd have a better chance to survive. He didn't even know why he'd tracked her to the waterfall and waited at the bottom to catch her before she hit the rocks.

He pushed these thoughts to the back of his head as he concentrated on finding Kurama and the others. He'd make sure none of the idiots had gotten themselves killed, and then he'd be gone, and he wouldn't have to worry about any of this again.

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**So I hope you enjoyed this one-shot of mine! I know it's kinda confusing in the beginning, and i'm sorry, but the beginning of the story is only half-formed in my head right now xD This scene was clear and I wrote it down on paper before I forgot it xD**

**Anywho, I hope you enjoyed, and PLEASE comment and let me know your thoughts. Whether you want the full story or not~**

**Much appreciated! **

**~Reese**


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